This Simple Cognitive Bias Can Have Serious Consequences

Left-digit bias can lead to flawed decision-making in economics and in medicine.Recently, I became acutely aware and impacted by left-digit. At first, it seemed benign—a few letters and a freebie from the AARP—but then the discriminatory communications began to roll in:"Schedule your screening colonoscopy!""Check your lipid panel!""Time for the shingles vaccine!"

As it turns out, southpaws need take no offense: left-digit bias has nothing at all to do with handedness. Rather, this bias is one that we are all familiar with, whether we realize it or not. It is the tendency to categorize continuous variables based on the left-most digit. For example, our minds trick us into thinking items costing $79.99 are a better deal than those costing $80.00 because when it comes to buying something, a lead “7” is obviously cheaper than “8”.

The study compared CABG rates between those who had just celebrated their 80th birthday with those whose 80th birthday was just around the corner . The two groups were virtually the same age and were identical in terms of baseline characteristics. You probably can guess what the investigators found. The “older” patients were less likely to receive a CABG than their “younger” counterparts , even though the age gap was negligible: 5.3 percent vs. 7.0 percent : P<0.001.

Look this, olsonzaltman!

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Birth Control Pills Are Safe and Simple: Why Do They Require a Prescription?The risks associated with hormonal contraception are lower than the risk of pregnancy itself and comparable to those of other over-the-counter drugs
Source: sciam - 🏆 300. / 63 Read more »

Why Social Media Makes People Unhappy&mdash;And Simple Ways To Fix ItResearch suggests platform designs make us lose track of time spent on them and can heighten conflicts, and then we feel upset with ourselves Simple fix: Get off it !! Disconnect !
Source: sciam - 🏆 300. / 63 Read more »

Tomlinson: Recessions are inevitable, prepare with these simple stepsTop business leaders and economists see a recession on the horizon, here’s what you can...
Source: HoustonChron - 🏆 609. / 51 Read more »

Inside the Phillies’ turnaround. Was it as simple as changing the manager?Firing Joe Girardi was a reality check. But the Phillies’ 14-3 revival under Rob Thomson can be attributed to several other measurable factors, too. They forced him to do the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Source: PhillyDailyNews - 🏆 89. / 67 Read more »

Jan. 6 testimony drives ‘cognitive dissonance’ for Trump fansBarr’s testimony that Trump was repeatedly told there was no election fraud? He was paid off by a voting machine company, according to one false claim that went viral this week. Ivanka Trump … Further evidence it’s a cult. It’s laughable to think otherwise when you read their own quotes. Fools, one and all.
Source: mercnews - 🏆 88. / 68 Read more »

How to get treated for long COVID in NY and NJFor local employees confused about how to get care, here’s a simple guide.
Source: WNYC - 🏆 602. / 51 Read more »